1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to gasoline or electrically powered devices used to trim or cut grass, weeds and brush, wherein a driven head assembly contains a plurality of cutting blades that rotate at high speed to cut the vegetation. The invented device relates more specifically to such a cutting device wherein the cutting head need not be disassembled to access the cutting blades and the blades are replaceable without the use of tools. This ease-of-replacement feature may be very beneficial at the cutting site where blades sometimes break, a quick fix is desired, and it is especially troublesome to drop pieces of the cutting device in the grass or weeds. Therefore, use of the invented device would be extremely practical by those persons who regularly use a powered weed cutting machine.
2. Related Art
Powered rotating vegetation cutting devices from the past have used a nylon string or a plurality of cutting blades rotating at a high rate of speed to cut plant matter. Periodically, the cutting blades in said conventional blade-based devices become unserviceable due to breakage or becoming dull and must be replaced. This operation normally requires the use of tools and at least partial disassembly of the cutting head to access the cutting blades. Frequently, a cutting blade may be broken during a cutting job due to striking a hard object such as a stone, tree trunk, etc. and it is desirable to replace the broken blade on the spot so that the cutting job may be completed. Thus, it becomes necessary to either return the cutting machine to the garage or shop to accomplish the task, or, to replace the cutting blade at the cutting site, wherein tools to do so must be carried on the person. Disassembly of the cutting head at the cutting site introduces the risk of the loss of cutting head parts within the vegetation at the cutting site and the attendant frustrating search through said vegetation to attempt to locate the missing parts.
Examples of conventional cutting heads are found in the patent literature. Barbula, in U.S. Pat. Nos. D280,903 and D301,110, illustrates cutting heads wherein screws are employed to retain the cutting blades upon the head, and wherein the cutting heads do not permit the removal and replacement of the cutting blades unless the screws are first removed. U.S. Pat. No. 6,119,350, Sutliff et.al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,681,865 B2, Pace; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,912,789, Price, III each address a cutting head for a rotary trimming device wherein the cutting head must be disassembled and/or special tools are required to remove and replace the cutting blades.
There is a need for an improved rotary vegetation cutting head that allows blade changing without tools and without disassembly of the head. There is a need for such a cutting head that results in no loose parts or fasteners during use or maintenance, except for replacement blades and removed broken blades. Such a cutting head would be convenient and beneficial to those who have trouble or dislike using small tools and handling small parts. The present invention may meet these and other needs.